Splash shield



. Aug. 11,1942. 4 'c o Lm' 2,292,466 7 j v SPLASH: SHIELD Filed June 2, 1941 f 1 can/ 2250? C7areg2ae [61/05 Patented Aug. 1 1 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. Clarence F. Norlin, Chicago, 111. Application June 2, 1941, Serial No. 396,259"

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to footwear, and more particularly to a splash shield adapted to be attached adjacent the lower extremity of the heel portion of a shoe to prevent the discharge of water, dirt or other foreign matter from the heel cap. a w

It is particularly adapted for use in connection with womens shoes, and while it should not be construed as limited thereto, it is believed that its greatest utility-is in connection with shoes having comparatively high heels.

Before describing the structure of the preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is believed advisable to point out that whenever a person is walking on wet pavements the sole and heel surfaces of a shoe will invariably pick upa certain amount of dirt and moisture, and the normal walking movements of the average person are such as to tend to flick droplets of water containing dirt upwardly from the rear .edge of the heel cap. When this condition is allowed to exist it results in soiling the hosiery, of the wearer, and with the present vogue for high-heeled womens shoes, the soil is often so pronounced as to be extremely unsightly and embarrassing to the wearer. Experiments indicate that the splashing effect of the movements of the shoe are much more pronounced on certain individuals than on others, but the movements incident to the natural walking gait of many persons are such that almost every stepwill flick a drop of dirt-laden water rearwardly and upwardly, and in the course of a few minutes walking many of these droplets will strike the ankle and calf surfaces of the wearer's hosiery sufliciently to be entirely unpresentable.

A further object of the invention is to provide a splash shield so designed and constructed as to be capable of manufacture by stamping or otherwise cutting out a single thickness of yieldable sheet material. These and other objects, which will appear hereinafter, are accomplished in the present instance by the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing accompanying this specification and forming a part thereof, in which- I Figure 1 is a side elevation of a typical woman's shoe showing a preferred form of the present invention attached thereto;

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the shoe and splash'shield illustrated in Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmental detail view showing a splash shield such as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 applied in an alternate position on the shoe;

Figure 4 is, an enlarged perspective view of the splash shield illustrated inFigs. l, 2 and 3; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention wherein the splash shield is so constructed as to be capable"of-manufacture by blanking of a single thickness of resilient material;

Figure 6 is a fragmental side elevation of a second modification of the invention showing the splash shield formed as an integral part of the heel portion'of the footwear.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, the splash shield It includes a resilient band portion l l which is preferably formed of a comparatively thin piece of resilient rubber or similar material and which is adapted It is therefore the principal object of this inv vention to provide a splash shield adapted to be attached to the heel portion 'of a high-heeled womans shoe and to extend angularly rearwardly therefrom in'such a manner as to interto encircle the heel portion l2 of anyconvem tional type of shoe such as the shoe l3. On one side of the band portion l I a thin flexible resilient membrane I4 is provided which is preferably cept any drops of moisture discharged from the a splash shield so designed and constructed as to be instantly detachable from any shoe and capable of attachment to any one of anumber of shoes having substantially similar heel portions.

split as indicated at 15 to provide a plurality of relatively narrow resilient ribbons I6 adapted to lie in. contiguous side-by-side relationship.

It will be understood that the entire splash shield l0, including the band portion II and the ribbons I6, are preferably formed of rubberor a similar yieldable material, but may be .formed of other types of materials withoutdeparting from the spirit of this invention. A splash shield l0 should be applied to the heel I2 of the shoe lit by inserting the lower extremity of the heel l2 through the oriflce of the band portion H.

tend downwardly and angularly away from the heel, will assume the position rearwardly of the rear edge of the heel cap and in spaced relationship with it. The exact position of the band II is largely a matter of choice although experiments indicate that the best results are obtained when the band is so positioned that the lower extremity l8 of the ribbons comprising the flexible membrane I4 normally lie slightly below the lower surface of the heel cap.

It is contemplated, however, that the membrane [4 maybe arranged in somewhat different positions with more or less satisfactory results. In fact, it has been found that the entire shield structure may be reversed as shown in Fig. 3, so that the membrane [4 extends upwardly and rearwardly from the band II which in this case is positioned closely adjacent the heel cap H.

In the modified form ,of the invention illustrated in Fig. 5, the resilient band 2| and the flexible membrane 22 are' formed by being stamped out of a single thickness of sheet rubber. The orifice 23 in this case is somewhat. smaller than the size of the heel with which the device is to be used, so that when the shield is inserted on the heel the band portion 2| will be tightly stretched around the heel portions and will draw the membrane 22 out of its normal alignment and into a position somewhat similar to the position of the membrane illustrated in Fig. 1. In this form of the device it is also desirable to shear the rubber along the lines 24 to form a plurality of ribbons 25, although quite satisfactory results can be obtained by the use of a single one-piece membrane.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 6 the resilient membrane 3| is formed as an integral part of the heel portion 32 of a galosh 33. f

Inasmuch as this class of footwear is usually made of rubber or similar material, the shield 3| may be easily moldedduring the process of manufacture and will function in the same manner as the other forms of the invention heretofore described.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention in compliance with the patent statutes, I am aware that it is subject to numerous modifications without departing from the inventions spirit and therefore wish to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A splash shield comprising a resilient band portion adapted to encircle the heel of a shoe and a relatively thin flexible resilient rubber membrane joined as an integral part of said band and composed of a plurality of relatively narrow resilient ribbons lying in the same plane with each other and in contiguous side-by-side relationship so that the marginal edges-of each of said ribbons abut and contact the edges of adjacent ribbons throughout their length; said membrane being adapted to be attached to the heel portion of a shoe at a point closely adjacent the heel cap and positioned to extend angularly outwardly from the heel, the arrangement being such that the outer extremity of said membrane will assume a position spaced apart from and rearwardly from said heel cap and in the path of foreign matter flicked upwardly by movement of the heel.

2. In combination with the heel port1ons of footwear, a splash shield comprising a relatively thin flexible resilient rubber membrane adapted to be attached to said heel and composed of a plurality of relatively narrow resilient ribbons in contiguous side-by-side relationship so that the marginal edges of each of said ribbons abut and contact the edges of adjacent ribbons throughout their length; said membrane being adapted to extend angularly outwardly from the heel and downwardly to a point below the lowermost portion of the heel, the arrangement being such that the outer extremity of said membrane will assume a position spaced apart from and rearwardly of the lower extremity of said heel and in the path of foreign matter flicked upwardly by movement of the heel.'

3. In combination with the heelportions of footwear, a splash shield comprising a flexible stretchable resilient band of a width greatly in excess of its thickness, said band being adapted to be stretched over the lower portion of a shoe heel and to be fixedly engaged with the shoe heel by the inherent tension and frictional characteristics of the band; a relatively thin flexible resilient membrane joined as an integral part of the band throughout a portion of the circumference of said band; the resilient flexible membrane being adapted to extend downward from the band, and being split upwardly from its lower extremity at a plurality of points in spaced relationship to each other, to provide a membrane having a substantially uninterrupted marginal edge, but being composed of a plurality of relatively narrow resilient ribbons lying in the same plane with each other and in contiguous side by side relationship, so that'each ribbon is independently yieldable for flexing movement in a direction normal to the general plane of the membrane.

4. In combination with the heel portions of footwear, a splash shield comprising a flexible stretchable resilient band of a width greatly in excess of its thickness, said band being adapted to be stretched over the lower portion of a shoe heel and to be fixedly engaged with the shoe heel by the inherent tension and frictional characteristics of the band; a relatively thin flexible resilient membrane joined .as an integral part of the band throughout a portion of the circumference of said band; the resilient flexible membrane being unsupported at its side edges and arranged to extend downward from the band, and being split upwardly from its lower extremity at a plurality of points in spaced relationship to each other, to provide a membrane having a substantially uninterrupted marginal edge, but being composed of a plurality of relatively narrow resilient ribbons lying in the same plane witheach other and in contiguous side by side relationship, so that the marginal edges of each of said ribbons abut and contact the edges of adjacent ribbons on either side; the arrangement being such that no portions of the ribbons overlap each other so that each ribbon is independently yieldable for flexing movement in a direction normal to the general plane of the membrane; the construction and arrangement of the band and membrane being such that the band will serve to maintain the membrane on the lower portion of the heel of a shoe so that the individual ribbons of the membrane will extend downwardly from the band portion in close association with and immediately behind the heel cap.

CLARENCE F. NORLIN. 

